Mantis Haters, Are You Crazy?

Since it's the winter, and it's really cold here in Chicago, I figured to flip through my Cedar Point pictures from the past 2 years. My first venture to the park was 2 years ago, in September 2002 with the debut of Wicked Twister. I was completely amazed with everything the park offered, except all the damn spiders...yuck.

I've been an avid reader of this website for some 3 or 4 years now, but only a poster sporadically throughout. I've read to my dismay that some of you dislike Mantis, calling it "the roughest piece of $h*t ever!", "Needs to be torn down" and all that mess.

I honestly cannot agree with ANY of those comments.
While I've only been on Mantis a total of 5 times, I found it to be one of my favorite coasters at the park. And I even thought it was smoother than Raptor, if that's physically possible. As being one of the largest stand-ups in the world, this coaster deserves more respect than its getting. I don't understand the bad rep its getting.

Sure the g-forces are there, but that's because the rides is so damn big. I'm 6'2" and I think that's pretty tall for a stand up. I fit comfortably and yes there is pressure on my legs when I ride, but that's part of the ride. When have you ever been standing up going 60-something m.p.h?

And for those of you that think Mantis is rough? I've got a present for you at SFGAm, it's called Iron Wolf.
While I don't think Iron Wolf is all THAT bad, (front row at night is NOT to be missed, people!) You should be more than happy with Mantis.

Sorry, just thought like venting for a sec...haha. :)

-Jeff-

Actually, when I first visited Great America this summer, I almost DID NOT get on Iron Wolf simply because I normally do not like stand-ups (well, the don't LIKE me....I have a bad back/knee, not to mention the headbanging). It was my first time, so I thought what the hey.

I was bracing myself the whole time, but to my surprise it WAS NOT as bad as I thought it would be. Actually, I even enjoyed it a little. The intensity, speed, and G's on the old B&M's are just insane, including the old Batmans. :)

As far as Mantis it's not one of my faves but I do enjoy it on occassion. It's definately NOT the roughest and I can think of one or two other coasters in the park that I would like to see go instead of Mantis, if that were the case. I am sure it's going to be there for a very, VERY long time. :-)

Ironically, one of my top ten coasters is Riddler's Revenge, so go figure. :-) It's one of the smoothest B&M's, let alone stand-ups I have been on. Others would disagree. I guess it depends on the person and how our bodies react to certain things. :-)

-Tina

*** Edited 1/10/2004 10:48:11 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

I think the ride is beautiful. I also can't see why people think it is rough. It's so smooth that it made me feel a little sick durring the '99 photo shoot and I had to sit a few rides out.

It's a ride I can do once in a visit. :-) It is a beautiful coaster indeed.

-Tina

*** Edited 1/10/2004 10:52:08 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

I personally don't like Mantis. Honestly, I'd prefer to not ride it, but the dorky enthusiast in me won't let me when I attend CP. That said, the problem (as it were) with Mantis is that the layout is a little too tight, especially given its size, for a standup, and is better suited, layout wise, to be a sitdown. I'd love Mantis if it were a sitdown/floorless coaster. The layout is amazing. The layout as a stand-up is poorly designed. Yes, there are haters (not I), and lovers (apparently you), and those in the middle. I don't love it, nor really like it. I just wish they'd put different trains on it.

Now call me a nut, but something about Iron Wolf just says "I dare you to like me." As Tina said, it's that silly old B&M design team from the early days. They just overdid the hell out of things then, and even though that layout is even more insane, I think I like it because I barely survive. It's like "holy crap" the entire time, and I love it. Just ask Peabody!

I guess you could call the old B&M's masochistic in a way. :-)

I agree Rob, Mantis would be ideal if it were sit down, maybe even as sweet as Raging Bull or Nitro. ;-)

-Tina

It gives me a headache, plus after waiting in line for ever I'd perfer to sit.

What nasai said!

Mantis...How much can you stand?..I'm ready to sit!!

When you ride a coaster, you are supposed to be terrified or smiling with joy. For me, Mantis has me "smiling" because I am gritting my teeth so hard (to prevent them from chipping!) going through some of those transitions. Ouch!

This is a topic that has been discussed to death, and neither side is going to budge.

1998 - Mantis was smooth, but my right calf got pulled fighting off the big G's.

2003 - Mantis boxed my ears, but my calves were fine.

In conclusion, I liked the rails better when they were gray.

My dislike for Mantis has more to do with my dislike for Stand-Ups in general. I think the idea to add inversion after inversion was a mistake. Case in point - the only stand up I ride repeatedly is the Georgia Scorcher at SFoG. Why? Because it's short and does a good job of giving you a thrill without being unpleasant during transitions.

It hurts my junk waaaaaaaaay to much to be a sweet ride.

I'm a girl, so the standing-up part isn't too bad, but I agree that it should be a sit-down. Mantis is OK, but the ankle pressure on the really low dips is painful. Iron Wolf killed my head, I swear I had bruises on my head from that ride. The only stand-up that I really like is Chang. It's fairly smooth, spread out, and there aren't many low dips that kill my ankles. There was also King Cobra, which wouldn't have been bad if it wasn't so old. To be honest, I didn't know it was defunct until I started looking for it, when I went to PKI 2 years ago.

Mantis is just one of those coasters that is more fun to look at then it is to ride. I think I was just spoiled by the Scorcher, but on the whole I just don't care too much for stand-ups. I think the reasoning behind why I have the feeling is -- I just stood in line for around 1.5 hrs to ride the thing, the last thing I want to do is stand up to ride it. I don't know, maybe that's just me. Then there is also the voice in my head that keeps telling me that I should be in line across the midway from Mantis. ;) Gotta love Millie.

I rode Mantis for the first time in 2002. The only part of Mantis that hurt me was the transition into the mid course brake. Other than that I thought it was an awesome ride. Not as good as Riddlers Revenge but still a fun ride. I've never had a problem with standups 'hurting my junk'. The ops want you to standup straight, but you can get away with some slight knee bending. When the lock the restraints stand up and your weight will be on your feet, not the seat. That's the way to ride a standup and enjoy it.

Everyone has their opinion on this coaster. What may work for you doesn't work for everyone else.

I rode Mantis for the last time last summer. I was fully ready to give it a second chance, but I have to say that the ride hurts. The head banging, legs, lower organs that are vital to me. It literally hurt to ride no matter how I was positioned.

I happen to like it a lot. Brings a new meaning to intense for me because the G's are so powerful. But like Jephry said, everyone has their own opinion.

Anyone who's ever ridden Riddler's Revenge and Mantis will probably agree that Mantis is a sub-par ride.

I don't want to stage a defense for the bug, but it just seems odd that people like a wild feeling and forceful ride, but they don't like Mantis. Mantis does have some rather extreme g's, probably the most noticable in the park. I guess some people don't like this, but I sure do. And the quick banking transitions, particularly right before the MCBR, are some of the best parts of the ride, and some of the wildest elements in the entire park IMO. I guess I'm just a wierdo but I really like the ride, although the ridiculously slow line keeps me away sometimes...